Window or door assembly



Oct. 13, 1959v r s. F. sPARKEs 4 2,908,051

WINDOW 0R Doon ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. v21. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 rf-:L42 5215 26 ilmnln'rfi f n nlunllgl? A TTOIENE YJ- Oct. 13, 1959 s. F. sPARKEs 2,908,051

wmnow 0R DooR ASSEMBLY l Filed Aug. 21, 195e 2 sheets-sheet` 2 United `States* Patent Office WINDOW on Doon ASSEMBLY Sidney Fuller Sparkes, Scarborough, Queensland,

Australia v Application August 21, 1956,Serial- No. 605,381 Claims priority, application New Zealand August 25, i1955 1 c1aim. (c1. 20-19) *inventionrelatesto a .Window or door assembly,

alternative vconstruction of the in Figure 4; l

Fig. 91s a rear perspective view of a further -form of aspane shown particularly sembly according to the; invention, usable either for winwithin which four panes 11 areY mounted, an uppermost audit has-more partcula-1j referencey to an assembly having slidable window o rfdoor panes.

. The prf y'pal bjeqtfofltheinvention Ais Itoprovide a window 'ordner asseinlzpl'y of theftyp e` ,having panes adapted tob'el moved slidably between positions in which they act to open or closethe window or door, the assembly being of such improved construction that a relaltively l arge -number of( panes maybeemployed and may he compactly arrangedA in open positions to providea very eiectivewindow for door opening.`

Another object of theinvention .isfto provide a Window or door assembly ,of the aforesaid type of such construction that .'tlieconnections. betweenadjacent panes in the closed 'poSilionsf-will ,be de ,sirabl'y weatherproof.

' Yet another object of theinvention'is` to provide a Window or ,door assembly of theahovementioned con- Strutqn Which maybe Qpe'rateds'imply and easily Abetween the open/and closed positions nf the, panes, and in which the panesfmay be. safely held in desired Open POS- nSrt A further'object of vthe.,invention is to provide a window or door assembly of thechar'acter described wherein novel toms' :of s ldable es areemployed to suit the valious, material' 'froinfw .the panes may be suitably made." I

' Still further'objects of the invention are to provide a window he 'einplQY Witheitherveieallyforhorizontally sliding paneninall cases Where slidin'g'wiudowsor doors may be used, whether externally'or. internally of buildings, and including oorfle'n'gth and silltype Windows and cupboard door assenlblynt the type stated which may and, partition doors; the assemblies being relatively simple durablelin operation. Y Other !bjects and advantagswillbe apparent from the following description. A l -In the drawings: Y Fig. 1 is areanperspective view o 4one form of assembly according to the invention, usable either'for windoWs or. drfs; but Shown particularlyinrelation to silltypewindows;

Fig. 2 is a sectional? end view along ,theline 2-*2 of Figurel; f

Fig, 3 is aj perspective view of part offenev of the vertical guide.l rails of the assembly s hownin Figures 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a partly'brokenaway perspective view of part of one of the panesr of thejasfsernblyshownin Figures l and2;

Fig. 5 isfa front elevational View. along the line 5l-5 of Figure2; l Y Figf is a sectional endview'ot"anlalternativeconstruction of the drainage tray of the assembly shown in Figures l and 2,1 'this formofdrainage traybeing most suitable forjfloorlength windows ordoors;

fFig'. 7 is a perspective View of part of an` alternative construction of the guiderailfshown in Figure 3;'l l

"Fig 8 is a partlybrokenLaway p't'erspectiverviewv of an and inexpensiveto manufacture and instal, yet strong and flanges 14 of the guide rails 12.

pane 11a being. fixed while a lowermost pane 11b andtwo intermediate panes =111e are vertically slida-ble within the trame 10 to positions in which they are banked behind the uppermost panel/1a. c l t A The 4frame 10 includes a pair of upright guide rails I112 of extruded metal, each guide rail 1Z`having veparllel channels 13 along its inner portion, and formedal'sowtli front and rear flanges 1.4. As illustratedin Figure gteacli channel 13 is more or less heart-shaped in plan view so that, when a pane 11 is accommodated therein, the pane will bear only along the vertical lines through the three points indicated at 15 in Fig. 3.

Eachpane 11 is made of transparent plastic material such as that sold under the trademark Alsynite, and it is in the form of a flat sheet with integral topand Vbottpm flanges 16 and 17 respectively which are formed on opposite sides of the pane 111"and are of opposed hook like form so that the lower ilange 17 of onepane may engage beneath the upper lflange y16 of anotherpaneiAt the same time, each of the flanges :16 and-171s cutaway at both of its ends so that its length is equal tothe *distance between the upright guide rails 12, and so that-'the portion of each end of the pane 1 1 which mayeng'age in a channel 13 of the guide rail 12 is of suitable'rectangular cross-section, this cutting-away of the flanges 116 and 17 being apparent from Figure4 of the'drawings'.

'I'he lower extremities of the guide rails 12 are mounted in a drainage tray 18secured on a window sill 19, eacli guide rail 12 resting on a flat base 2010i thetray 18 with its -front and rear flanges `14 bearing against an up-turned end llange 21 of the vtray 18. At therear of the tray;18; the metal'of the base 20 is turned upwards for a short distanceV and thendownwards to be secured to the rearof the sill 1K9 so that there is formed a rear drainage flange 22. Each of lthe upright guide rails |12 is held in place on the drainage tray 18 by a bolt 23` passing through apertures in the front and rear llanges 14 of the rail 12 and through the drainage flange 22. f

The upper ends of the guide rails 12 `are interconnected by aframe top member -24-which has aat'horizontal top 25 with front and rear down-turned anges 216 and '2711espectively. The top member 24 `is securedinplace' on the guide rails 12 by means ofbolts 28 securing the ends of the flanges 26 and 27 of` the top member 24 to the As shown in Figure 2 in particular, the lowermost pane. 1r1b is locatedslidably in the rearmost channel 13 of the guide raill12, While the other three panes are arranged in series above the piane. 11b andprogressively tothe front of the assembly in the other channels '1-3, the top flanges 116 ofthe bottom three lpanes engaging with the bottom anges f17 of the top three panes, while the bottom flange 17 of the lowermost pane `11b bears against the base 20 and drainage flange 22 of the drainage'tray 18. l On the otherhand, the top flange 16 `of the uppermost panel, 11a is hooked wedgedly over an Iattachment flange 29 oa pane-supporting bar 30 so that the pane 11d is lfixed against movement in its channel 13. As shown inl-iig` 12, and the attachment flange 29 fits closely `between the bar30 and then extends vertically for a short distance as illustrated.

There is provided an aluminium ventilation pane 31 located in the opening in the frame V10 between the front flange 26 of the top member 24 and the pane-supporting bjar' 30.- Thefventilationv pane31l is hingedly connected to'the flange'26, and for this purpose, the lower part of the liange 26 has a cut-away portion v2V at its middle as shown in Figure 5, while it has hinge-portions 33 at either end, turned arcuately under.v The upper edge of the ventilation pane 31 is correspondingly cut away at its ends adjacent the hinge portions 33, while its middle portion 34 is turned arcuately over and forwards so thata hinge rod 35 may extend between the guide rails 12` through the hinge portions 33 and 34. The ventilation pane ,31 extends down below the top of the uppermost pane; 11a toA slightly above the pane-supporting bar 30, and it has side anges 36 adapted to'l bear against the frontfaces'of the guide rails 12. to effect weather-proofing. To move the ventilation pane 31 hingedly about the hinge rod-,35, there' is providedran adjustment bolt 37 hingedly connected to a bracket 38 on the ventilation pane 31. so that'it is freerto hinge in a vertical plane. The Yrear end of the adjustment bolt 37 passes threadedly through lan adjustment knob 39` which has an integral body portion 40 supported inV a forked -bracket 41 by a pin 42. 4The bracket 41v is secured to lche top member 24' of the frame 10 and has its fork engaging in a circumferential recess in the body portion 40 with the pin 42 also in the recess. By this arrangement, the knob'y is freetto rotate in the bracket 38, to advance the vlbolt .37, and at the same time it is free toihinge in the vertical plane through the bolt 37 to accommodate upward movement of the front end of the bolt 37 when the ventilation pane is hinged outwards.

So .that the panes 11` may be raised or lowered in their channels A13, there is provided an actuating arm 43 on la bracket 44 secured to the front face of the lower-most lpane 11b, near to its bottom. lThe arm 43 is of sutlicient length to extend forwards past the middle channel, and it has a rubber pad 45 secured to its top. It will be apparent that the lifting of the lowermost pane 11b will cause the pad 45 to engage successively beneath the intermediate panes 11c so that the three panes Y11b.and V11c may be raised to positions in rear of the uppermost pane 11a with the pad 45 in contact With the lower edge of the uppermost pane 11a.

' To raise or lower ythe lowermost pane 11b to effect opening or closing of the window in the abovementioned manner,`there is provided an elevating mechanism associated with the frame tcp member 24 and adapted to released, the spring 54 will ensure that the pawl 50 lirmly engages with a tooth of the pulley wheel 49 to prevent counter-rotation. However, the pulley wheel 49 may be released from the pawl'50 `at any time to allow counter-rotation of the shaft 47 merely by so moving the cord to one side thatit moves the lug 53 to pivot the pawl 50` away from the pulley wheel 49- against the action of the spring 54, the amount of counterrotation of the shaft 47 then being controlled by tension exerted by -the operator on the-cord 46. v f

On the shaft 47 within the top member Z4 there are removably secured a lifting pulley 56 vand a sprocket wheel 57; Identical pulleys and sprocket wheels are also vremovably secured to the other shaft .48, and, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 5, a chain 58 connects the sprocket wheels 57 of the two shafts 47 and 48.

` Thus, rotation of the shaft 47 by means of the control cord 46 willcause rotation in the same direction of the shaft 48, and there are Wound around thev lifting pulleys 56 of the two shafts 47r and 48 liftingcords 59 which extend downwards' on corresponding-,sides of the pulleys 56 to be connected Vto` lifting 1ugs`60 tothe lowermost pane 11b. .For convenience, the lifting lug 60 shown onv the right in Figure `1 is riveted through the pane 11b to the bracket 44 of the actuating arm 43. j Y

A 'spring-type catch-"61 of conventional design" is mounted on the drainage ange 22 of the drainage tray 18 and is adapted to engage a locking lug Y62 connected to 'the lifting lug 60 whereby the lowermost pane 11b will normally be locked when it is in its closure position. However, Vthe catch61 may be digitally released to free the pane 11b toallowitjtov be raised by the control cord'46.

The assembly may .be easily installed in `a window opening lin a wall by mountingit in the manner described on the window sill 19 and securing the vtop member 24 and guide rails 12 to the appropriate members defining the opening in the wall. For this ,purposa be operated `by a control oord 46. The elevating mechaf,

" most pane 11a. AAt the same time, the ventilation pane nism includes a pair of shafts 47 and 48 mounted rotatably through the anges V26 and 27 at opposite vsides ofthe top member 24, the shaft 47 being longer than the shaft 48 and extending rearwards of the ange Z7, and

having secured'to its inner end la pulley wheel 49` on be apparent'thatit is equally appllcable to licor-length -on the ilange 27, yand its lower `end `below the pivot rod 51"has 'a substantially horizontal lug 53 with anv aperture through which the control cord 46 passes. The pawl 50 is normally maintained -with its upper end engaging one of the teeth of the pulley wheel 49-by vir'- tue of the provision ofa tension spring 54, one end of `*which loosely encircles the shaft Y47 while the .other endhisconnected to a -lug on the upper end of the pawl 50.. It will thus be apparent that the control cord 46 may be pulled down at any time to rotate theA shaftl 47 'frwith1` the pulley wheel 49`acting as a ratchet inlsco'njunctioxlf with the .'pawl 50, when the cord' 46 vis" screws may be passed, if desired, through the top 25 of the top member 24 or through thev flanges j 1 4 ofthe guide rails 1'2, or else attachment plates or brackets of any desired type vmay be used to extend between the Hanges14, 26 and27 and the adjacent portions of the wall. Y Y

The operation of the. assembly VbeV apparent from the foregoing description,fthe parts being arranged either inthe closed positions shownin Figures 1. and 2 vn which good weatherproofingwillbe'alorded 'by lthe inter-engagement of the anges'16 and 17 of the panes 11,

or'with'the panes 11b and 11e elevatedby the actuating arm 43 to desired extent up'to a maximum'height 1n which they lie in banked formation behind the upper'- 31 may be opened to desired extent by means ofthe adjustment knob 39.

I Although the assembly has `been Iillustrated and described in' its application Ato 'sill-type` Windows, it will l construction of'drainagetray 18 which is most` suitable for licor-length windows or doors, the base 20; of the drainage trayf 18" being mounted von the oor 63, where it has flat extremity 64 secured to the oor. It will also be apparent that the guide rails v12' and t, panes 11 maybe 4modiiied to suit the materials from .which they are-to be made. In FigureA 7, there is illustrated a guide rail made ofv pressed metal sheeting instead of extruded metal as in the form previously described and illustrated particularly Vin FigureV 3. In this modified guide rail 1 2, each channel 13 Vhas parallel sides 65 against which thepanes 11 may slide, while the inner extremity, o f each channel is bent back as indicatedtat 66 to reduce v the bearingsurface contactingthe ends of the'p'anes 1 1 and thereby reduce friction in the same manner as is provided for in the extruded formv of guide rail, j

Furthermore, it will be apparent that the panes A11, as previously described, in which there are integral top and bottom anges 16 and 17, cannot be made of plate or other glass. "Accordingly, there is'illustlrated in Figure 8 an alternative constructionof pane which may be suitably made of glass. In this case, there is provided a rectangular pane frame 67 having identical upper and lower extruded bars 68 with engagement flanges `69 extending from one side thereof, the bars 68 being arranged so that the flange l69 of the lower bar, the anges 69 terminating short of the ends of the bars 68 in the same manner as previously described in relation to the plastic panes. A pane of glass 70 is located in longitudinal channels 71 of the bars y68 and terminates at either end short of the ends of the bars 68 but past the ends of the ilanges 69. Identical side bars 72 have inner channels into which the ends of the glass pane it, and their upper and lower ends are reduced in cross-section to tit within the longitudinal channels 71 of the upper and lower bars 68 4to Iwhich they are secured by counter-sunk rivets 73. The overall width of each side bar 72 in the directiony of the gla-ss pane 70 is equal to the depth of the guide rail channel in which it is to be slidably mounted, so that its inner edge is in line with the ends of the tianges 69. If desired, the glass pane 70 may be set in rubber within the channels of the frame 67. It will be seen that the paneillustrated in Figure 8 will thus be functionally equivalent to the construction shown in Figure 4.

Again, i-t may be preferred, in certain instances, to provide .a simple, manually-operated assembly without the cord and pulley-type mechanism shown in Figures l and 2. In such a case, a handle (not shown) may be secured to the lowermost pane 11b whereby the panes may be raised to desired extent, and a number of spaced grooves may be provided in the upright rails 12'within any selected one of which a slidable bolt (not shown) on the lowermost pane may be releasably engaged to support the panes at a desired height. i

In Figures 9 and l0 of the drawings, there is shown an alternative form of assembly according to the invention, in which horizontally `sliding panes are used, the assembly being usable for sliding doors or windows in any location, lalthough it is most applicable to partition doors in the form illustrated.

In this assembly, a rectangular frame 74 includes upper and lower guide rails 75 between which four panes 76 mounted, the left `side pane 476a being fixed while the right side pane 76b and two intermediate panes 76C are horizontally slidable within the frame 74 to positions in which they are banked behind the left side pane 76a.

The guide rails 75 are pressed from sheet meta-l so that each has front and rear anges 77 and 4four parallel channels 78, as illustrated, within which the panes 76 are slidably mounted. Vertical end members 79 and 80 constitute the left and right hand ends of the yframe 74 respectively, these end members also being pressed froml sheet metal with front ianges 81, rear iianges 82 and intermediate weatherprootng anges 83. As shown in the drawings, the weatherproong ange 83 of the left end member 79 is adapted to fit into slots 84 between the outer two channels 78, while the flange 83 of the other end member 80 is similarly adapted to tit into a slot which in this case however is located between the inner .two channels 78.

Each pane 76 is made of transparent plastic material in the form of `a at rectangular sheet, and there are aiiixed to both ends of the intermediate panes 76C, to the right end of the pane 76a and to the left end of the pane 76b engagement strips 85 of extruded metal. These strips -85 'are substantially F-shaped in cross-section, so that each may engage `over the end of a pane and have a liange 85a extending at right angles to the pane, adapted to endetail and design.

gage 'with an oppositely disposed flange `85a of an adjacent pane 76 as illustrated in Figure l0. i j,

Thelstrips terminate short of the top and bottom fof each pane 76, extending between the top andbottom guide rails '75 but not `into the channels The left hand end of the pane 76a is secured by screws to the weatherproong tiang'e` 83 of the left end member 79 sothat it is fixed in position and -a weather-proof connection is made at this end. The right hand end of the pane 76b may bear in the closed position against the rear of the iiange 83 of the right end member 80, but the pane 76b is free to slide to the left.

So that the panes 76 may be moved slidably in their channels 78, there is provided yan actuating arm 86 on a bracket 87 secured to the front face of the pane 76b, near to its right hand end, the arm 86 being of Suliicient length to extend past the second outermost channel 78. It will be apparent that the movement of the pane 76b in its channel towards the left hand end lwill cause the arm 86 to engage successively with the strips 85 on the right hand ends of the panes 76e so that the three panes 76b and 76C may be moved to positions in rear of the pane 76a, with the actuating `arm 86 Ilocated .adjacent the right hand end of the pane 76a.

To move the pane 76b to eiect opening or closing of the door in the abovementioned manner, there is provided a handle bracket 88 for manual operation; and in order that the pane 76b may be held in closed position when desired, there is provided a catch 89 adapted to be engaged with a locking lug 90 on the handle bracket 88.

This form of assembly may alsov be installed very easily in a similar manner to that described in relation to the tir-st embodiment; and if desired or found necessary 4in cases ofexternal doors for example, a drainage tray may be provided beneath the bottom guide rail 75 `for weather-proofing purposes.

Door or window assemblies made in accordance with the invention will therefore be found most effective in achieving the objects yfor which the invention has been devised. It will however be understood that the particular embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described may be subject to many minor modifications of construct-ional Any desired number of window or door panes may be employed with `a corresponding number of guide channels, and they may, for example, be made to house ball or other bearings along their contact surfaces in 4the guide channels to allow more efficient sliding. These and other modifications will be readily apparent and are deemed to reside within the scope and ambit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A window or door assembly including a frame, a plurality of panes mounted slidably in 4the frame for traveling in separate parallel paths within the frame, means for supporting the panes either in closure positions in which they are arranged in series to close the 'way through the frame or in a common open position in which they are arranged evenly in stacked superposed formation at one end of the trame to open the way through the frame, each pane having a first ange adjacent an edge thereof which is closer to such common open position and extending away from an immediately succeeding pane, the latter being adapted Ifor further movement away from such open position, each pane having `a second flange adjacent the opposite edge thereof extending in a direction toward said secceeding pane, whereby in moving away from the open position, the second and rst flanges of adjacent panes interlock to move each pane successively to its closure position, each such succeeding pane being free to move throughout its separate path independently of the immediately preceding pane of such series and without interference to the open position to effect the evenly stacked formation, an arm member on the pane adapted for furthermost travel from such common open position to engage the edge of each pane adjacent the second -ange thereof, and means tor sliding said furthermost panebetween its closure l:md open positions toengage said arm member with each o'fr'the remaining panes and -return them to sush evenly stacked formation at -the open 'positfonk` v Y References Cited`i thele of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS A*301,429 Boeclgelmm `Jn1y `1, 1884 

